]]>Your YouTube channel art is one of the most important parts of your YouTube channel—aside from your actual video content, of course.

It’s basically a giant billboard for your brand at the top of your YouTube profile.

It’s the first thing people see when they visit your channel, and it links potential followers to your other social channels.

But you don’t need to be a professional designer to make your YouTube channel art look professional. We’ve included five customizable templates in this article that anyone—designer or not—can use to create their own YouTube banner.

And we’ve broken down the process into eight easy steps. Read on to start creating your own designer YouTube channel art.

Bonus: Attract more views and subscribers in minutes with one of our 5 free customizable YouTube channel art templates.Download them now.

The 5 elements of engaging YouTube channel art

1. Your logo, in the right place

First things first. Who are you? Make sure that’s clear right off the bat. New visitors to your page will want to know.

Place your logo in an obvious, visible spot against a color that makes it pop. Also, make sure it’s within the “safe area” (more on that below).

Not sure where to put your logo? Our templates offer suggestions.

2. Simple image with a clear focal point

Like any billboard ad, the simpler the message, the easier it will be received. Don’t try to do too much with your YouTube channel art.

Instead, use this small space wisely to convey what you want viewers to focus on about your brand. Stick to one image and a logo against a simple background.

Or maybe it’s just your logo against a background that makes it clear what your brand is all about, as Epicurious does.

If you’re a really well known brand with top YouTube talent, you could even skip the logo, and simply feature the stars of your channel. It seems to work for Bon Appetit.

Whichever direction you choose to go in, remember: the rest of your YouTube page already has a lot going on. If you want people to take an action—subscribe, follow you on another social channel, or watch one of your videos—don’t let your banner overwhelm them.

3. Optimization for both desktop and mobile

Seventy percent of YouTube views come from mobile. That means although your YouTube banner is technically 2,560 x 1,440 px, most people will see an area much smaller than this.

Make sure to include the most important information (like your logo) in the “safe area” of your YouTube banner, i.e., within an area of 1,546 x 423 px. Our templates mark out this area very clearly, so you don’t have to worry about missing anything important.

4. Consistent brand colors

This almost goes without saying, but make sure your YouTube banner is consistent with the way you present your brand elsewhere online. Otherwise, viewers will get confused.

This rule stands even if your YouTube presence is more laid back or wackier than your other social channels. You don’t want to disorient viewers who are more likely to click that follow button if they know they’ve got the “right” version of you on YouTube.

Pro tip: Make sure to update your channel art when you refresh your brand, or run a special campaign. WIRED magazine updates their YouTube channel art for every new issue they put out.

5. Social media and website links

Your YouTube banner includes the option to link to your other social platforms and website. This is great! Because chances are if someone has taken the time to visit your YouTube page, they’re also interested in the rest of your online presence.

It’ll be important to design your YouTube channel art with nothing important in the right hand corner—except for a background color that helps your icons stand out.

YouTube channel art dimensions

Your YouTube channel art will appear on desktop, mobile, and even TV displays. This means larger images may get cropped.

Make sure to include all the most important visual elements in the “safe area” of your image (dimensions noted below).

Bonus: Attract more views and subscribers in minutes with one of our 5 free customizable YouTube channel art templates.Download them now.

Use the following YouTube channel art dimensions to ensure your image shows up correctly:

For best results on all devices: 2,560 x 1440 px

Minimum dimension for upload: 2,048 x 1152 px

Minimum safe area for text and logos: 1,546 x 423 px

Maximum width: 2,560 x 423 px

File size: 6MB or smaller

If you’re not sure about the width and height of an image, don’t worry. You can always start by customizing one of our YouTube channel art templates, which are pre-populated with the correct dimensions.

How to make YouTube channel art

Starting with a professionally designed template makes it easier to create your own YouTube channel art. Here’s how to customize our templates for your brand. You will need Adobe Photoshop to get started.

Bonus: Attract more views and subscribers in minutes with one of our 5 free customizable YouTube channel art templates.Download them now.

1. After you’ve downloaded the YouTube channel art templates, you’ll notice that the fonts and image files are separate. Double click on the font file of your selected theme to upload the font to your computer. Click install font.

2. Double click the image file to open it in Photoshop.

3. Select the YouTube channel art template that you’d like to work with first.

4. To edit text: double click the text you would like to edit. You can change fonts and colors in the menu on the left-hand side.

5. To edit a color block or background: double click the color block you would like to edit. Change the size or use the menu on the left-hand side to change the color.

6. To edit a photo or image: double click the photo you would like to edit and click insert new image. Resize image as necessary.

7. To save the template: Select the template you would like to use and go to Save>Export As>Artboard to Files. Make sure to save as a .jpg or .png.

]]>https://blog.hootsuite.com/youtube-channel-art-templates/feed/0Struggling to Find That Stat? Research Tips for Social Media Marketershttps://blog.hootsuite.com/research-tips-for-social-media-marketers/
https://blog.hootsuite.com/research-tips-for-social-media-marketers/#respondTue, 10 Sep 2019 16:30:39 +0000https://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=129143Content may be king, but poorly researched content can make you look more like a joker. Great social media research skills can help boost your reputation as an... Read More

]]>Content may be king, but poorly researched content can make you look more like a joker.

Great social media research skills can help boost your reputation as an expert in your field. But it’s a wild world of information out there. It can be tricky to find the precise data you’re looking for from a credible source.

Even if you do strike research gold, you can still go wrong by using statistics incorrectly. This is something even professional journalists can struggle with. So, what’s an aspiring content marketer to do?

In this guide, you’ll learn seven effective ways to conduct social media research for professional, accurate content.

Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals how to increase social media engagement with better audience research, sharper customer targeting, and Hootsuite’s easy-to-use social media software.

Online research tools

Google, of course, is an online researcher’s best friend. But it can also be your worst enemy, sucking you into time-wasting dead ends as you hunt for information. It can also lead you astray, since it returns information unfiltered for credibility. Remember: Just because you found a “fact” on the internet doesn’t make it true.

First, let’s talk about some advanced search techniques to target your research efforts. These will help reduce the amount of time you spend searching through irrelevant information.

1. Use Google search operators and advanced search

Google search operators are simply text cues to help Google understand exactly what you’re looking for. They narrow down the potential matches to your search, reducing irrelevant information. Some of the most useful include:

Quotation marks (“”)

Placing a phrase in quotation marks tells Google that you’re searching for that specific phrase. Without the quotes, Google will search for any combination of the words.

For example, try searching “online research strategies”. The search will return articles (like this one) that contain that specific phrase. If you search without the quotation marks, you’re more likely to get content about research in general, rather than specific online tips.

Asterisk (*)

An asterisk acts as a wildcard, allowing Google to fill in the blanks.

For example, maybe you’re looking for a quote from Shakespeare, but you can only remember some of the words. You could search “to * own self be true”.

Site:

This operator allows you to search only the results from a specific website. This is particularly helpful if a website does not have its own search field.

Number range (..)

Placing two periods between numbers instructs Google to search for any numbers within that range. This can be especially useful when searching for results that include specific dates.

For example, you could search Space Shuttle 1981..2011. You would get Space Shuttle results that mention any dates within that number range.

Related:

This handy search operator will bring up sites related to any site you specify. This can be very handy for competitor research, or for finding potential influencers and thought leaders in your niche.

For example, try searching your own site with this operator to see what sites Google thinks are related to yours. Type related:[yoursite].com. Make sure not to add a space after the colon.

You can also use Google’s advanced search page to narrow your results. You can filter by language, region, file type, and more, without having to memorize any search operators. Several of these tools are also available on the main search results page, under the Tools tab.

2. Use Boolean search operators

Boolean search is named after George Boole. He was a 19th-century British mathematician who developed much of the logic that search engines now use to find what we’re looking for online.

Boolean search terms can help target your results in searches beyond the search engines. For example, you can use them to search a specific website, social network, or online database. Here are some common Boolean search operators.

AND

Using AND between two search terms indicates that you only want results that include both search terms. This can be particularly helpful when you’re looking for statistics that compare two or more things.

For example, searching Instagram AND Facebook AND TikTok reveals only sources that mention all three of these social networks. Keep in mind that Google automatically treats all searches as AND searches.

OR

Using OR between search terms indicates that you want to search for any of the terms rather than all of them.

Following on the previous example, searching for Instagram OR Facebook OR TikTok will return:

sources that mention only Instagram

sources that mention only Facebook

sources that mention only TikTok

and sources that mention any combination of these networks

But OR is most helpful if there are two different ways of referring to the same thing. For example, maybe you’re searching for something that has different names in different places. If, say, you are conducting research about decor for small apartments, you could search “decor for small” apartment OR flat.

Hyphen (-)

Using a hyphen (or minus sign) before a search term eliminates results that include that term. This can be particularly helpful when a word has multiple meanings, and you only want results for one of those meanings.

After all, there’s no chance of misquoting when you’re directly sharing the original source.

But it’s still important to stick with credible sources. Just as not every “fact” you find in Google is true, not every post you find on social channels comes from someone who knows what they’re talking about.

Search Facebook

Enter your search terms in the search bar at the top of your Facebook page. You can then use the filters and options to find more specific results. You can filter by source, location, and date, and choose from posts, photos, videos, and more.

Keep in mind that you can only embed posts that are set to be publicly visible.

Search Twitter

The Twitter search bar works with Boolean search terms. That means you can use the information above to customize your research on Twitter. You can then use the tabs to filter by the most popular (Top) or most recent posts, or to specifically look for photos or videos.

There’s also a somewhat tricky-to-find advanced Twitter search page. It allows you to filter your search by user, date, search terms, and language. You can also use all of these in combination to laser-target your search.

Search Instagram

Instagram search only considers names, usernames, locations, and hashtags, so it can be harder to find relevant statistics here. That said, it’s worth a shot, since you might find infographics and other visual data.

Instagram can especially useful if you’re looking for information coming out of a conference or event, since this will likely include a known hashtag or location.

Type your search term into the search bar, and Instagram will suggest relevant hashtags, users, and locations.

Search with Hootsuite

You can use Hootsuite to search for conversations about particular topics on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

You can then set up a Hootsuite stream to keep tabs on what authoritative sources are saying on social media. That way, you’ll always have a prescreened “go file” ready when you need new details.

5. Find the original source

When you begin your research online, you will likely come across a lot of news articles or compilations of statistics. These can be a great starting point for your social media research, but you need to dig deeper to find the original source.

For example, this CNN article says that Pinterest surpassed 300 million monthly active users in the second quarter of 2019. But CNN is not the source of the information, so you need to keep going to find the original source to cite yourself.

The CNN article cites Pinterest as the source of the information (“Pinterest reported”), but does not provide a direct link. Still, it’s pretty easy to find. Just Google “Pinterest” “300 million” and Pinterest’s original announcement appears as the first search result.

You now have an original source to cite directly in your own article. This would also be a great place to use the site: Boolean operator to find results directly from the company’s website.

6. Use consistently reliable sources

With so much information out there, it’s important to start building a list of credible sources in your industry. Here are some good places to start.

Company web properties

When looking for statistics or other information about a company, the best place to start is the company itself. Good places to search include the company’s:

Pages that showcase the company’s advertising options can also be a good source of data, since user numbers are of particular interest to potential advertisers. For example, Facebook’s Ads page reveals that 1.6 billion people are connected to a small business on Facebook.

For public companies, the investor relations page is usually the most up-to-date source of user numbers and revenue figures.

For example, check out the “Selected Company Metrics and Financials” document on Twitter’s Investor Relations page. Among other statistics, you can learn that Twitter had 139 million monetizable daily active users as of the end of Q2 2019.

Company social profiles

Companies often share statistics or announcements in their social profiles. These are great for embedding.

Twitter even has an account dedicated to sharing statistics about the company itself and how people use the platform. You can find some pretty obscure statistics here that make for interesting research.

Research organizations

Research companies and organizations that produce regular reports are also a great source of data.

Keep an eye on the sources that are regularly cited in your industry to get a sense of the major players. Those relevant to you will vary, but Forrester, comScore, and the Pew Research Center are great places to start.

Hootsuite and We Are Social Digital Reports

The annual reports and quarterly updates that researcher Simon Kemp creates for Hootsuite and We Are Social are packed with useful statistics about Internet and social media use.

Read the #Digitalin2019 report from Hootsuite and Simon Kemp of We Are Social!In this report, you'll find data about the changing landscape in social, mobile, and e-commerce from every country in the world ???? http://ow.ly/M83j50lY9vt

It’s a common mistake to flip statistics like this around, saying instead that 79% of Facebook users are aged 30 to 49.

In fact, some articles online do say this, linking back to the same Pew Research Report we cited. Some even add that 46% of Facebook users are over 65, another backwards statistic. The correct information is that 46% of people who are aged 65+ use Facebook.

Think about that for a moment: 79% plus 46% = 125%. Since “%” means “out of 100,” well, you see the problem.

If this all sounds a bit confusing, that’s because it is. That’s exactly why you need to make sure you truly understand what a statistic means before using it to back up a point or incorporating it into your content. This guide from the Centre for Investigative Journalism provides some good tips for working with statistics:

Incorporating all of these techniques will help you use the Web for effective research to build your credibility and support your content marketing strategy. When you use research and statistics right, your site becomes its own credible source of quality information for your followers and potential leads.

Use Hootsuite to research your social media audience and schedule posts to appear at the time they are most likely to be online. Try it free today.

]]>https://blog.hootsuite.com/research-tips-for-social-media-marketers/feed/0How to Run a Smart Social Media Takeoverhttps://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-takeovers/
https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-takeovers/#respondTue, 10 Sep 2019 16:00:18 +0000https://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=116617Ever consider running a social media takeover? A social media takeover is when you grant posting privileges to a person of interest, like an influencer, expert, or professional.... Read More

A social media takeover is when you grant posting privileges to a person of interest, like an influencer, expert, or professional. While takeovers are most popular on Instagram and Snapchat, they can be hosted on any social platform.

This guide will cover how your brand can benefit from a social media takeover. It’ll also show you how to run your own takeover, step-by-step. And give you inspiration from other successful social media takeovers.

Bonus: Get the step-by-step social media strategy guide with pro tips on how to grow your social media presence.

Why run a social media takeover?

There are many reasons to host social media takeover. They can help you increase awareness of your brand, open up new audiences, engage your current followers, and more.

Increase exposure

Social algorithms change often, but a general rule is the more engagement your post receives, the more likely it will be seen by others. Whether you tap a macro-influencer with a large audience or a micro-influencer with a dedicated base, increased exposure can bring your account more engagement, sales, and followers.

Ethical fashion brand Everlane teamed up with Teen Vogue beauty editor and stylist Michelle Li for her expert advice on how to style their threads.

Gain new followers

One of the primary benefits of increased exposure is new followers.

If you can find a takeover host that speaks to your target demographic, chances are higher they’ll be interested in hearing more from your brand. But takeovers can also be an effective way to move into new markets.

Opening a shop in a new city? Launching a menswear line? Find a host that holds sway in your new target market and can introduce you to new prospective followers.

To announce its offering of free worldwide shipping on orders, Reformation tapped British influencer Lucy Williams takeover its Instagram Stories and model their pieces around London.

Build brand affinity

Takeover hosts can have a halo effect for your brand. If an influencer is trusted by their audience, their vote of confidence can go a long way for your brand’s credibility.

But don’t think of takeovers as strictly endorsements. Takeover hosts can show a more personal or ethical side to your brand.

If you’d like to promote your sustainable practices, for example, get a host who is a well-known advocate for the environment. Want to prove that your products can be worn by people of all ages and body types? Find takeover hosts with different ages and body types.

For its Twitter takeover, Mastercard asked its summer interns what they are passionate about. The campaign was able to promote the brand’s #pricelesssummer campaign, while sharing a more personal side as well.

As a Sponsorships intern, Esha is involved in cool global events such as the GRAMMY Awards! But sadly, her internship will not including attending the upcoming Rugby World Cup ???? pic.twitter.com/qNDocEbfBd

Share different perspectives

Unique points of view can resonate with different followers. Social media managers should always work to include and account for diverse perspectives, and takeovers can help to fill in gaps or lift certain voices.

Do a social media audit and see if your content truly reflects your audience, customers, or employees. If it doesn’t, consider a social media takeover as a way to introduce new faces, ideas, and experiences.

The Washington’s Post travel brand By The Way sourced 50 local reporters and authors from destinations around the world to takeover its Instagram Stories. Going local in the travel context lends authenticity as well as diversity.

Kanchan Koya’s perspective as a molecular biologist/mom spiced up her @BuzzfeedTasty takeover with tips that only she could offer.

Make the most of special events

Whether you’re launching a new campaign or sponsoring an event, a takeover can help your brand seize the moment on social media. And special events usually result in entertaining content that your brand and takeover host can get creative with.

If it’s a high-profile event, be sure to use relevant hashtags that will help you nab extra exposure.

Also keep an eye on social media holidays. If you create cat products and you plan to host a takeover from a pet influencer, #InternationalCatDay might be a good day for it.

Red Bull and Red Bull Photography teamed up during its #RedBowlRippers event with a takeover from photographer Teddy Morellec. In addition to its own rippin’ event, the takeover gained exposure with the #WorldPhotographyDay hashtag.

How to run a social media takeover in 5 steps

Social media takeovers don’t have to be complicated. Follow these steps to make sure your takeover checks all the right boxes.

We’ve included examples to inspire social media takeover ideas along the way.

1. Define your goals

If you think a social media takeover is right for your brand, start by creating a plan. What do you hope to accomplish with a takeover? How will you do it? When will you do it? How will you define success?

2. Find the right creators

If you go this route, check to see who they’ve partnered with in the past. Look at the engagement on their campaigns and get familiar with their personality.

Pro tip: Watch for things that may be red flags for your brand, such as previous partnerships with a competitor or promoting views that your company doesn’t stand for.

Not all social media takeovers require influencers, though. Consider partnering with people who have a unique and informed perspective.

For example, every week on Instagram @newyorkerphoto hands over the spotlight to a different photographer. These photographers may not have huge audiences, but they create work that is The New Yorker’s audience will find interesting.

3. Set takeover parameters

Here’s where you’ll delve into the details.

Before going too far, it’s important to sort out who will be creating and posting what content. In many cases the takeover host is featured in the content, which means control can be kept within your brand’s social media team.

If your host is creating the content, determine a schedule for reviewing and posting. You can hand over access to your account, or ask them to provide it and post on their behalf—unless your takeover is on Snapchat, in which case you’ll have to hand over access.

What platforms will the takeover be held on? (Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)

When and for how long will the takeover run? Factor in metrics like your influencer’s audience location and the time of day they receive the most engagement.

What type of media will be shared? Photos, Boomerangs, videos, etc. Is the host responsible for writing copy as well?

Will the takeover include posts, stories, IGTV, or YouTube videos?

How many posts will the takeover include?

Will the takeover promote a hashtag? Should it include another hashtag as well?

Should content include other elements such as stickers, filters, or polls? Will links be included as well?

Depending on the platform you choose, some details will matter more than others. For example, Irene Kim’s Seoul Fashion Week Snapchat takeover for Vogue required some logistical planning, but the content was more off-the-cuff than polished.

Meanwhile The North Face’s hyper-polished, multi-channel takeover campaign, which featured pro skiers, would have required much more planning and discussion.

Want to get all the action from Red Bull Cold Rush 2016 in Revelstoke Mountain Resort? Team Skiers Tatum Monod, Angel…

4. Promote the takeover

Once you’ve planned a takeover, it’s a good idea to let people know about it.

If you’ve recruited top influencer talent, ask them to promote the takeover on their personal account. Depending on what you’ve agreed on, they can tease the content before and during the takeover on specified social platforms. Be sure they include your handle and/or hashtag when they do.

Just because the takeover is happening on Instagram doesn’t mean you should only promote it there. Take to Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn and whatever channels seem relevant to let your audience know about it.

If you send a newsletter or run a blog, consider sharing it there as well.

If you’re teasing the takeover in advance, make sure to include the date and time they should tune in—especially if your takeover is an ephemeral Story or Snap.

If it’s not time-sensitive, on Instagram you can highlight the takeover as well. If it’s on Snapchat, be sure to take screen captures, and a video that you can post on YouTube or elsewhere.

If your host posted content on their accounts, ask them to share their metrics as well.

Be sure to document your success, especially when it comes to content that expires. Learn from what worked and what didn’t so that your next social media takeover will be even more of a success.

Use Hootsuite to manage your next social media takeover. Publish to all major social channels from the same dashboard, respond to comments and messages, and track your campaign’s success. Try it free today.

]]>https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-takeovers/feed/0How to Run the Best YouTube Contest in 10 Easy Stepshttps://blog.hootsuite.com/secrets-youtube-contest/
https://blog.hootsuite.com/secrets-youtube-contest/#respondThu, 05 Sep 2019 17:00:27 +0000https://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=121055Want to gain subscribers, win leads, and drive sales? A YouTube giveaway can help with all of those goals (and more). Marketing on YouTube is all about building... Read More

]]>Want to gain subscribers, win leads, and drive sales? A YouTube giveaway can help with all of those goals (and more).

Marketing on YouTube is all about building community, and YouTube contests are a great way to do that. Not only do they help viewers interact and feel connected to your brand. They also encourage likes, comments, and shares—all of which influence your rankings in YouTube search.

In this post, we’ll share key tips for hosting a YouTube contest. We’ll also go through the YouTube giveaway rules and offer creative content ideas to get you started.

Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals the exact steps one creator took to gain more than 23,000,000 views on YouTube with no budget and no expensive gear.

How to run a YouTube contest in 10 steps

1. Set SMART Goals

Research shows that people who set their own goals get more done than those who don’t. Get clear on why you want to host a YouTube giveaway before you start planning it.

5. Keep it low barrier

Of course, asking participants for video submissions can pay off. But simpler tasks, like likes, subscribes, or comments are often more effective. This is especially true if you’re still growing your subscriber base.

Take this LimmyBoi campaign, for example. He promises an iPhone giveaway, but only if he can get at least 1,000 likes on the video. He got more than three times that number by making it super simple to join!

6. Pick a contest hashtag

If you do decide to ask viewers to create their own videos, make sure you use a contest hashtag. A great hashtag is a simple way to keep track of submissions. Plus, it can help generate more interest—especially if one of the videos takes off.

Include a legal privacy notice explaining how you plan to use any personal data collected (e.g. subscriber names, email addresses, social handles)

State any location or age restrictions

Include a disclaimer that YouTube hasn’t endorsed your contest in any way. Make it clear that participants release YouTube from any liability related to the contest.

5. Accept responsibility

Finally, remember that you are 100% responsible for your contest. It’s up to you to ensure no one gets hurt.
If you’re still unsure whether your contest idea will work, seek legal advice. (Or, better yet, try something a little less risky.)

5 YouTube contest ideas and examples

Now that you’ve got the basics down, it’s time to start creating!

We have an entire post dedicated to social media contest ideas. But if you don’t have time to read the whole thing, here are a few of our favourites:

1. Sweepstakes and giveaways

Sweepstakes are easy to organize and participate in. They’re one of the quickest ways to boost engagement across multiple platforms.

In a sweepstakes, participants perform a basic task for a chance to win. This can include:

Subscribing to your channel

Following your other social media accounts

Liking or commenting on a video

Some combination of the above.

We love how young YouTuber Minai runs giveaways. To qualify, viewers have to subscribe, turn on channel notifications, watch one of her videos, and leave a comment. Each of these tasks would benefit her channel on its own. But together, they boost engagement even more.

You can let fans vote to choose a winner. Or, you can decide yourself. Either way, you’ll end up with tons of engagement. Plus, some very funny fan-generated content.

Take Lindybeige’s Hannibal caption competition, for example. The announcement video generated more than 50,000 views!

3. Comment below

Asking for comments is another popular YouTube giveaway strategy. These contests can range from super simple to very difficult.

The most basic option is to have viewers leave any comment they like. But you’ll get higher quality engagement if you ask them for something specific. For example:

Answer a skill-testing question

Find an object hidden in the background of your video

Guess how many x are in y

Ask a question related to your video

Take this YouTuber’s back to school giveaway, for example. Participants left comments explaining why they thought they deserved to win. The host ended up with tons of thoughtful comments about how much fans loved her channel.

4. Talent contest

You can also ask your fans to submit their own videos. Get them to dance, act, or perform a challenge. Have them use the official contest hashtag so you can track submissions.

Terrell’s Song Association Contest is a great example of how this works. Fans submitted 60-second videos of themselves singing. The top 5 contestants won a free, all-expenses paid trip to Los Angeles and a guest appearance on his show.

5. Content suggestion contest

Finally, you can use YouTube contests to generate new content ideas. For these giveaways, fans tell you what they want to see more of in future. It’s a great way to get people talking.
But the best part of a content-based YouTube giveaway? You don’t even need a prize! Often, seeing an idea put into practice is all the reward fans need.

Snack Time’s character suggestion contest is a perfect example. It generated more than 5,000 comments—plus an awesome new character!

With Hootsuite, you can easily upload, schedule, and promote your YouTube channel and videos across multiple social networks from one dashboard. Try it free today.

]]>https://blog.hootsuite.com/secrets-youtube-contest/feed/0How to Get Clicks Without Resorting to Clickbait: 5 Easy Tacticshttps://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-get-clicks-without-resorting-to-clickbait/
https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-get-clicks-without-resorting-to-clickbait/#respondWed, 04 Sep 2019 18:00:21 +0000https://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=127326As a content marketer you want people to click on your headlines. So they’ll read your posts. And buy your stuff. I get it. Wouldn’t want it any... Read More

Bonus: Download a free guide that reveals how to increase social media engagement with better audience research, sharper customer targeting, and Hootsuite’s easy-to-use social media software.

What are clickbait headlines?

Clickbait headlines consist of words and symbols to provoke curiosity. In whatever way it takes for those headlines to stand out in any feed. So that readers will click your headlines, versus the other guys’.

Exclamation marks to excite. Strong words to incite. Anything is (un)fair game when it comes to baiting the reader to click.

Here’s a few:

HOW TO QUIT YOUR JOB, MOVE TO PARADISE AND GET PAID TO CHANGE THE WORLD – JON MORROW

Why avoid clickbait headlines?

Your bounce rates will increase

“Simply unbelievable”, “you’ll be blown away”, “the most amazing story ever.” Rarely do such sensational phrases deliver on those promises.

When you write to shock, you fall short of meeting the reader’s expectations. Then they’ll leave your page and bounce back to Google search results—increasing your bounce rate.

Your rankings will decrease

When people return to their search results, search engines count that first click as a mismatch between searching and finding. In other words, when your bounce rate increases, your search rankings decrease.

And then less people overall will visit your content.

Facebook posted phrases commonly used for clickbait headlines. If you use those phrases, you’ll rank lower in their news feed too.

You’ll lose trust

You’re working hard to build credibility for your brand. Don’t blow it now by trying to lure readers with the fantastical and sensational.

Clickbait might work in the short run, but certainly not for long.

For sure, derive a catchy title—so long as your content delivers on what the headline implies.

5 ways to write headlines without resorting to clickbait

There are dozens (and dozens) of approaches to writing captivating headlines. But I don’t want to crowd your brain. This piece focuses on a precious few, ones I often use myself.

1. State the benefits

Stating the benefits in a headline or caption is a) considerate and b) useful.

Considerate, because you are thinking and writing from the reader’s perspective. Too many brands write from their perspective. “We”, “we”, “we”, “we”.

As I’ve said before in several posts, people care more about themselves than about you.

Useful, because you’re setting an expectation for what’s to come in the post or article. This helps readers decide if they want to click and read on. And, when you write it right, it will cause the reader to want more.

A few examples:

5 easy ways to move your readers to ‘yes’

How to clearly explain your business when writing your new home page

Identify the top 6 technologies to run and grow your freelance business

2. Be clear over clever

When you’re clear with your headline (or any copy), you make it easy for the reader. Anything else forces the reader to do brain translation—which requires brain calories.

Don’t make the reader do the heavy lifting to figure out what you really mean. They won’t. They’ll just stop and leave, instead of click and read.

And please… do not use tired, overused, vague, lame phrases. Like these…

Attempting to be clever

“Harness the power of digital innovation”

“Disrupt your industry”

“Transform your business”

Rewritten to be clear

“Apply the right technology to solve your most important business problems”

“Try new ways of doing things”

Who knows what this means? Too many ways to interpret this.

I repeat. Do not use jargon phrases that eyeballs glaze at and gloss over.

I’ve heard it before. “Our audience understands what this means.” Bull-pucky. Write any of these terms on a post it note, give it to a room of so-called like-minded people, then ask them to write down their interpretations. You’ll get varying responses.

If you want your readers to click your headlines, state the obvious. Write several versions, fine. Maybe you can rewrite one of them to be clear and clever. But don’t exclude clear.

4. Include numbers

This may seem obvious, but it’s just not possible to leave out for writing effective headlines. People are attracted to numbers. Period. They’re easy for the brain to process. It lets the reader know the content will probably be easy on their brains, too.

Numbers work well because humans like predictability and dislike uncertainty.

Which would you rather have happen?

Walk into a waiting room at the doctor’s office… and just wait?

Or walk in, and be told the doctor will see you in about 15 minutes?

Any predictability allows your brain to relax, by having some (vs none) expectations. Same for your headlines.

]]>https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-get-clicks-without-resorting-to-clickbait/feed/017 of the Best Instagram Apps to Take Your Posts to the Next Levelhttps://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-apps-for-business/
https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-apps-for-business/#respondTue, 03 Sep 2019 17:00:41 +0000https://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=146545/While the Instagram app itself provides tons of useful functionality, sometimes you need a little extra help to take things to the next level. Fortunately for marketers, there’s... Read More

]]>While the Instagram app itself provides tons of useful functionality, sometimes you need a little extra help to take things to the next level.

Fortunately for marketers, there’s no shortage of tools designed to up your Instagram game. In fact, there are so many that it can be overwhelming to try to figure out what will work best for your needs.

In this guide, we’ve compiled the best Instagram apps in four important categories:

Types of Instagram apps

Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a lifestyle photographer used to grow from 0 to 600,000 followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

17 of the best Instagram apps for marketers

Photo editing

1. VSCO

Price: Free for basic or $19.99 USD/year for VSCO membership with additional featuresDownload: iOS or Android

Why you should try it

VSCO is one of the original and most popular mobile photo-editing apps. It’s so popular, in fact that nearly 195 million Instagram posts feature the #VSCO hashtag. The free version comes with 10 presets that make your phone-shot photos look like they were captured on film, along with photo-editing tools like contrast and grain.

2. Snapseed

Developed by Google, this precision photo-editing Instagram app works on both JPG and RAW files, making it a powerful tool for professional photographers. Beyond filtering your photos, you can perform serious photo-editing tasks like removing elements (or even people) from the photo, adjusting the geometry of buildings, and using curves to control the brightness of your image.

3. A Color Story

Price: Free with limited features, or $24.99/yr for full access to all filters, effects, and toolsDownload: iOS or Android

Why you should try it

Having been named both “Best New App” and “App of the Day” by Apple, A Color Story offers filters and presets designed by professional photographers and influencers. There are also some advanced editing tools, and you can create and save custom filters to develop a unique brand look. Grid planning tools help you ensure your entire Instagram grid is unified and cohesive.

A post shared by A Color Story (@acolorstory) on Aug 5, 2019 at 6:30pm PDT

4. Priime

Price: $2.99, with in-app purchases for additional presetsDownload: iOS only

Why you should try it

If you need a high-end, professional-grade editor that can tackle RAW and non-RAW photos, consider Priime. This powerful Instagram app delivers more colors as well as maximum resolution to your saved photos. It also edits live photos, meaning the same effects are applied to the motion portion.

Not a post-production expert? No problem. Priime provides smart style suggestions based on a photo’s unique colors, content, and format.

Layout and design apps

5. Layout from Instagram

Developed by Instagram, Layout is a feature-rich, super-simple photo mixer that instantly “lays out” up to nine photos in various combinations to form a collage. You can pick photos from your camera roll or shoot as you go with the built-in photo booth. Then it’s a matter of adjusting the dimensions of each box, adding filters, and uploading.

6. Adobe Spark Post

Price: There’s a free starter plan that includes basic features. Paid individual ($9.99/mo) and business ($19.99/mo) plans offer more features and collaboration functions.Download: iOS or Android

Why you should try it

Combine your photos with Adobe’s layouts and fonts to create creative graphics perfect for sharing on Instagram. If you’re lacking photos of your own, you can also select from thousands of free images directly within this Instagram app. You can also create graphics that incorporate no photos at all for an eye-catching way to share text-based posts on a visual social network.

7. A Design Kit

From the makers of A Color Story, this design Instagram app is packed with fonts to customize your posts. It’s also it’s got loads of unique stickers specially made for the app by talented illustrators. Perhaps most importantly, it’s got a ton of brushes, from markers to pencils, so you can get on trend by drawing on your Instagram photos.

8. PromoRepublic

PromoRepublic gives you access to more than 100,000 templates and images, with content suggestions and post ideas based on your industry. There are also templates for events, holidays, trends, and special occasions—including obscure dates like National Bacon Day or National Vision Board Day. WIth the PromoRepublic Hootsuite app integration, you can access and share PromoRepublic content directly from your Hootsuite dashboard.

Video tools

9. Boomerang from Instagram

Boomerang might be the simplest video capture Instagram app out there. Open the app, press the button, and you’re done. Boomerang takes a burst of 10 photos and uses them to create a mini video that loops forward and back, like a GIF. You can use the front or rear-facing cameras to create a short, fun video with no editing required.

10. LifeLapse

Price: Free, with in-app purchases for an expanded feature set.Download: iOS or Android

Why you should try it

Stop motion video can be a fun and engaging way to show off your products or create a flat-lay video, but it is also notoriously time-consuming to produce. LifeLapse uses ghosted image overlay tools so you can line up a series of photos to create a perfect sense of motion. Once you’ve added and adjusted your photos, the app stitches them into a video, with the option to add royalty-free music.

11. InShot

This is one of the best Instagram apps out there for video editing, mainly because it’s so comprehensive. You can trim, cut, split, merge, and crop video clips; adjust settings like brightness and saturation; add music; adjust video speed; flip and rotate; and add text and stickers. If you regularly edit videos on your phone, this is a great option with plenty of features.

12. Clipomatic

Captions are a great way to optimize your videos for Instagram users scrolling with their sound turned off. Cliptomatic automatically creates captions from your speech as you record your video. You can edit the captions if they’re not quite right, and change how they look with just a few taps.

13. GoPro

If you shoot for Instagram using a GoPro camera, the GoPro app will make your life much easier. While capturing footage, you can use your photo to adjust the video or time-lapse settings and get a clear preview of your shot. Once your video is recorded, you can do your editing right in the GoPro app, from trimming and combining clips to adding slow motion to using filters and stickers. The app will also compile the best moments from your recent footage (selected by an algorithm) into QuikStories that you can share directly to Instagram.

Audience engagement, analytics, and data app

14. Hootsuite mobile app

Price: Free for up to three social media accounts, with optional upgrades to plans for more users and accountsDownload: iOs or Android

Why you should try it

Beyond making all of Hootsuite’s social media management functions available away from your desk, the Hootsuite mobile app has two really important features for Instagram marketers. First is the ability to regram with just a couple of taps. Sharing user-generated content is a great way to engage your followers and fans, but there’s no native regram function within the Instagram app.

Second is the ability to schedule Instagram posts for later, so you can be sure you always post at the right time to engage with your audience, even if that’s not the most convenient time for you to post.

15. Iconosquare

Price: $29/mo for small businesses or $59/mo for larger teamsDownload: iOS or Android

Why you should try it

Iconosquare provides in-depth metrics and analytics so you can track and improve your performance over time. You’ll also gain access to industry benchmarks for more than 100 industries, so you can see how you’re doing compared to the competition.

16. Panoramiq Insights

Panoramiq Insights by Synaptive gives you detailed analytics for your Instagram account, including follower demographics, views, new followers, profile views, and link clicks. You can track your best posts based on views and engagement metrics, and export your reports as a spreadsheet or PDF file.

17. Command Instagram Analytics

Price: Free, with in-app purchases, including Analytics Pro at $9.99/mo.Download: iOS only

Why you should try it

Command is an Instagram app that provides a host of unique metrics. It provides an intuitive experience thanks to easy-to-read graphs and charts as well as a “Report Card” that grades everything from your followers count to your photo orientation. You’ll also get access to hashtag and caption recommendations, and even suggested influencers to work with.

Do everything you can to stand out.

Because the competition on Instagram isn’t letting up.

Every day, more brands are joining the platform, creating content, and adding to the noise.

Get an edge. Download one of the apps above and take your posts to the next level.

Save time managing your Instagram presence using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can schedule and publish Instagram posts, engage the audience, measure performance, and run all your other social media profiles. Try it free today.

Asking questions creates opportunities to get your followers sharing their thoughts and ideas on practically any topic. These user insights can help you come up with even better content in the future.

They might even help you come up with new product ideas if you ask the right questions.

For example, if you run a fitness coaching business you might ask, “What do you struggle with in the gym?” The answers your followers give you help formulate a ton of new content — from new products, Instagram posts, and more.

Great digital marketing provides viewers and readers with valuable, engaging content. That’s why tutorials or how tos crush it on social media.

Instagram posts give brands an opportunity to provide quick tips on almost any topic. For example, in the post above, fitness coach @thechriscoulson shows his followers how to do a perfect lat pulldown.

You also see this concept in practically any food Instagram account, like @foodminimalist. She provides her followers with delicious recipes accompanied by a great photo of the dish with each post.

Want a great way to humanize your brand? Just show your followers what goes on in your office. By letting your followers in on what goes on behind the scenes, you help them emotionally invest themselves in your company.

And no, don’t just snap a photo of a bunch of sleepy looking faces at a dreaded 10 am Monday meeting.

Show off the fun side of your workplace.

It could be anything from an employee working at their desk, an office dog lounging on its bed, or even a Bollywood-style dance number starring the entire office.

AMA stands for “Ask me anything”. An AMA is a great opportunity to directly engage with your followers. It can also be a way to share thought leadership on any topic related to your brand and build engagement.

It’s simple: Make a post soliciting questions from your followers and start answering them in the comments below. While your followers can ask anything, you luckily don’t have to answer everything.

This Instagram post idea is especially great if you’re an influencer, or if your company has someone who is a thought leader in your industry.

Sharing thought leadership is a great way to establish your brand as a leading source of great ideas and trends.

Thought leadership often comes in the form of great tips, hot takes, or lessons on a topic. Once you share it, your followers look at your brand as a reliable and relevant source of information. That’s great for engagement and brand authenticity.

For example, personal finance and development expert @ramit often takes to Instagram to share a lesson or piece of insight with his followers. In doing so, his followers know to trust him as a source for personal finance knowledge.

If you’re not a thought leader, that’s okay! You can still share great insights from thought leaders to your readers by doing our next tip …

Sharing insights from leading innovators and thinkers in your industry helps your followers immensely. And if you pick a big name in your industry, the Instagram post can draw in new followers and build more engagement.

And you don’t have to get the thought leader in front of your phone camera to do it. You can share a snippet of a podcast or YouTube interview you did with them.

In the example above, Matt Anderson of the The Road Not Taken Podcast interviews Matt Lebris on his best lesson in business. He provides a creative Instagram post for his followers.

Of course, you should avoid any of the ones that could hurt you or otherwise harm your brand, like the challenges that require you to eat laundry detergent or unholy amounts of spicy foods.

You can also share a funny meme or—if you dare—create one for yourself. If you choose to do the latter, you better make sure it’s good. Otherwise, you’re going to fall into /r/fellowkids territory (when a brand tries to relate to modern trends but fails miserably).

A sure-fire way to engage your followers while showing them some appreciation is by sharing the content that they made themselves—especially if it showcases projects they finished by using your product.

A great example of this is @adobe (see above). They often share designs, photographs, and other projects their users finished by using their editing software.

@Apple also does a great job of this with their #ShotOnAnIphone posts where they encourage users to share their iPhone photos and videos on Instagram using the hashtag.

10. Use a daily hashtag

Daily hashtags are hashtags dedicated to specific days of the week—and they’re a great way to build engagement with your followers.

They also offer a massive well of Instagram content ideas you can draw from. That’s no joke. In fact, here’s 40 daily hashtags you can start using for your Instagram posts today.

The most popular of all the daily hashtags is definitely #throwbackthursday or #TBT. As of writing this, there are nearly 9.6 million #TBT posts on Instagram. Every time you post using the hashtag, you have the opportunity to jump on this trend and open yourself to a wider audience.

Want a great way to humanize your brand? Humans aren’t perfect. Don’t shy away from admitting the odd failure.

No, you don’t have to share details of a litigation process if your company gets sued or an angry client email from a screwed up order. Instead, show the small mishaps that might happen around your workplace—and add some levity to it!

Maybe you own a bakery. Show the results of that batch of cookies you left in the oven for way too long.

Or perhaps you own a marketing agency. Show off that one newsletter you sent out with a typo on it and how crazy that drove you.

However, the most important thing is that you show off your mistakes and then show how you made it right. Only then can you build trust with your followers while humanizing your brand.

Before and after photos show your followers the true impact of your brand. Viewers see how exactly your work changes and benefits clients, which is fantastic for engagement and audience building.

These photos come in many different types too! You can show a before and after of your company’s logo to show how it has changed over time, a photo of your old office and new, or you can show a photo of the number of employees you’ve added to your team over the years.

Of course, if you have a product or service you offer, you can also show that off using before and after photos. The sky is really the limit with this type of content.

15. Show an influencer using your product

See an industry influencer using your product or services? Share photos and videos of them as an Instagram post!

This Instagram post idea is going to take more work than some of the others, but influencer marketing is a great way to build your brand by relying on the social proof. When people who your target audience knows and trust use your products and services, they help drive more people towards your brand. And that’s priceless.

Put some of these Instagram post ideas to use alongside your other social channels and save time using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can schedule and publish posts, engage the audience, and measure performance. Try it free today.

]]>https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-post-ideas/feed/0How to Use Twitter Analytics: The Complete Guide for Marketershttps://blog.hootsuite.com/twitter-analytics-guide/
https://blog.hootsuite.com/twitter-analytics-guide/#respondMon, 26 Aug 2019 21:30:59 +0000https://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=136801Twitter’s 139 million daily active users interact with brands on the network in important ways, from retweeting your content to a broader audience to making purchases that directly... Read More

]]>Twitter’s 139 million daily active users interact with brands on the network in important ways, from retweeting your content to a broader audience to making purchases that directly impact your bottom line. If you’re not using Twitter analytics, you’re missing out on key Twitter insights that could help you refine your strategy and maximize ROI.

In this complete guide, you’ll find out why you should be using Twitter analytics, which Twitter metrics to track, and what tools to track them with.

Bonus: Download the free strategy guide that reveals how Hootsuite grew our Twitter following to over 8 million users and learn how you can put the tactics to work for your business.

This can be especially helpful if you’re a new brand without much of an audience to analyze yet. But it’s just a start. Your specific audience might look very different from Twitter’s general audience.

For instance, the overall Twitter audience is 69% male and 31% female.

But, my Twitter audience is 55% female. If I crafted my Twitter strategy based on overall Twitter demographics, I’d be talking to the wrong people.

You need to understand the demographics of the people who have specifically chosen to follow you on this particular network. Twitter analytics can help you conduct this critical audience research as you grow your brand and your following.

In addition to core demographic categories, Twitter analytics gives you information about your followers’ interests, what devices they use, their behaviour, and the keywords they search. You’ll see from the screencap above that my followers’ top interest is dogs.

As a writer, it might be a bit strange for me to start loading my feed up with dogs. But if I were selling products like clothing or home accessories, or even services like travel or life insurance, these Twitter insights might suggest that I should test images that include dogs in my Tweets and Twitter ads.

Find out what content resonates

Twitter data shows that Tweets with video get 10 times more engagements than Tweets without.

Tweets with video attract 10X more engagements than Tweets without video. Visually, that's:

Some people at the aquarium thought this was not a great idea. “A lot of people at the aquarium view being silly or funny as somehow undermining our scientific credibility,” said Patrick Webster, the aquarium’s social media content creator.

But the memes got engagement numbers well above the aquarium’s norm. You know what you like. Only Twitter analytics can show you what your audience likes.

By keeping an eye on Twitter engagement metrics, you can learn precisely what connects with your followers, so you can develop a Twitter strategy that speaks directly to them.

Post at optimal times

This is especially true for Twitter, where it’s easy for users to choose to view tweets chronologically rather than in an algorithmic feed. That’s one reason why the lifespan of a tweet averages only about 18 minutes.

Twitter analytics tools give you loads of great data to help you figure out when your audience is most likely to be online. The most important thing is to find out where most of your followers live. You can get a breakdown by country, and by state or region.

You can also look at what devices your audience uses. This will tell you whether to try to reach people while they’re commuting, or if you should stick to business hours. If you discover, for example, that 92% of your audience accesses Twitter on a computer, you can bet they’re likely to be online while they’re at work.

Use this information as a starting point and do some simple testing to see what times get the most effective engagement.

See if your ads are working

If you’re putting your money where your tweets are, you want to know what kind of return on investment you’re getting.

Twitter analytics can show you how your paid ads compare to your organic tweets, so you can see how much your ad dollars are expanding your reach overall.

You can also use Twitter analytics tools to compare the effectiveness of different promoted tweets. For example, Twitter data shows that overall, shorter video ads are most memorable.

But do short videos resonate best with your audience? And do they lead to real business results like clicks and conversions? Twitter analytics can help you find out.

Replicate success

Twitter analytics help you understand which tweets work best, and which tweets are a bit of a flop. Analyze your best-performing tweets to look for patterns, so you can start to understand what works best for your particular audience.

11 of the most important Twitter metrics to track

Ad metrics track how well promoted tweets perform, from vanity metrics right through to conversions and ROI

Top account metrics

You’ll find these metrics on the Home tab of your Twitter analytics dashboard. They’re reported monthly.

1. Top tweet

What it measures: The tweet that earned the most impressions for a given month.

Why it matters: Since this tweet reached your largest audience, it’s a good example of what you’re doing right. That could be tweeting at the right time of day, using the right hashtags, including great targeted content that encouraged reshares, or all of the above. You may want to consider Quick Promoting this tweet to extend its reach even further—or at least noting its success so you can replicate it in the future.

2. New followers

What it measures: The number of new account followers in a particular month.

Why it matters: A follow is a longer-term engagement than a like or retweet, so if you see your follower count climbing, it’s a good overall sign that your Twitter strategy is working. If it’s fallen, on the other hand, take note of potential causes and try to correct them.

3. Top follower

What it measures: The top follower of the month, with the highest number of their own followers.

Why it matters: While this person has not necessarily shared your content yet, they have the largest potential audience. That means your top followers hold the greatest potential to broaden the exposure of your tweets through retweets and comments.

You’ll likely want to follow back your top follower each month, and keep them on your radar for potential influencer and brand advocacy campaigns.

4. Top mention

What it measures: The tweet with the most impressions of the month in which another Twitter user tagged you.

Why it matters: Take a close look here—is this a positive mention or a negative one? If it’s a positive mention or content share, be sure to thank the person and keep them on your radar for future collaboration. After all, they expanded your reach more than any other Twitter user this month.

If it’s a negative mention, reach out to the person to see what you can do to repair the relationship.

Top tweet metrics

After a high-level analysis of your account’s performance, these are the Twitter analytics you should focus on for your tweets.

You can view and track these metrics for individual tweets, or for all your tweets in a selected period of time.

5. Engagements

What it measures: Engagement is a count of how many times people interacted with your tweet. This includes everything from tweet expansion to retweets to likes to follows.

Why it matters: If you’re not getting engagement, you’re talking into a void. Tracking which tweets generate the most response is a good way to know what’s working for your brand.

6. Engagement rate

What it measures: The number of engagements divided by the number of impressions a tweet receives.

Why it matters: While the number of engagements is a valuable metric in itself, engagement rate gives a clearer picture of how engaging a Tweet is because it also factors in how many people saw the Tweet.

When tracking engagement rate over time, watch for spikes or lows. Then dig into the individual Tweet statistics for those dates to see what you can learn about the types of content that inspires your audience to engage.

7. Twitter reach percentage

What it measures: How many of your followers saw any given tweet. You can calculate this yourself by dividing tweet impressions by your total followers.

Why it matters: This pretty much comes down to timing. Knowing how many of your followers are seeing your tweets is a good indicator of whether or not you’re tweeting at the right times. This can also help you plan a strategy for reporting the same content in different ways to maximize exposure.

You may find that a tweet actually reaches more people than you have on your follower list, giving you a percentage higher than 100. This means non-followers found you, likely through a retweet, comment, or hashtag. Check these tweets carefully to see what worked so well.

8. Link clicks

What it measures: The number of times Twitter users clicked on a link or website card in your Tweet.

Why it matters: While link clicks are factored into engagement rate, you might also want to track clicks on their own. After all, this is engagement that moves beyond Twitter itself, with people choosing to interact with your brand content or products.

Top Twitter ads metrics

9. Results

What it measures: Results are the desired actions tied to your ad’s customizable objective. Twitter ad results can track a range of objectives, including impressions, followers, engagements, video views, website clicks and conversions, and more.

Why it matters: This is the essential metric for determining whether or not your ad is delivering on the desired outcome of your Twitter campaign. The result is directly tied to the objective you set for the ad. So, for example, if you choose website visits as your goal, the result number tracks link clicks.

10. Cost per result (CPR)

What it measures: An average of how much you pay for each relevant action users take after seeing your ad.

Why it matters: Each campaign objective is tied to a billable action that’s only charged when the action occurs. For example, if your campaign objective is video views, you’ll only be charged when someone views your video. Tracking CPR will help you manage your budget and factor into your ROI calculations.

11. Conversions

What it measures: As Twitter explains, “Conversion tracking starts where Twitter stops.” Conversions allow you to track what actions people take on your website and across devices after they see your Twitter ad.

Why it matters: These figures will give you a sense of the path users take from your Twitter ad to your site, right through to conversion.

From your conversion tracking dashboard, you’ll be able to drill down into post-engagement and post-view conversions, transaction values and total sales. It’s where you’ll mostly clearly see where your tweets deliver on ROI.

How to use Twitter analytics

In the Twitter Analytics dashboard

1. From your Twitter home page, click the three dots icon under your avatar, then choose Analytics from the menu.

This takes you directly to your Account Home dashboard, where you can track the account metrics described above.

2. To access your Tweet Activity dashboard, click the Tweets tab in the top menu, or click View all Tweet activity under your top tweet.

From here, you can track the individual tweet metrics described above.

2. Select the Twitter icon in the upper left corner. If you manage multiple Twitter accounts, select the one you want to track. Then, choose the date range you want to analyze.

Here you can track tweets, followers, engagement, and traffic. The + or – number compares your custom date range with the previous or custom period and helps to measure account growth and identify trends.

3. Scroll down to find more detailed analytics, including engagement numbers for individual tweets.

4. To track your Twitter metrics over time, click Reports. You can set up a custom Twitter analytics report with charts and graphs to monitor ongoing performance.

5. To drill down into the detailed Twitter metrics for individual posts, click Post Performance.

Twitter analytics tools

Twitter analytics and Hootsuite Analytics give you great insights into your Twitter performance. Here are some additional tools you might want to consider adding to your Tweet tracking arsenal.

1. TweetReach

TweetReach is a great tool to estimate and benchmark against competitors. Its snapshot reports track estimated reach, impressions, and other analytics based on username searches. Reports rely on social intelligence from Union Metrics (an official Twitter partner), so you know it’s legit.

2. SocialRank

SocialRank helps you identify your top followers in terms of engagement and value. It’s a good Twitter analytics tool to help identify potential advocates and influencers.

3. BrandMaxima

BrandMaxima allows you to analyze the performance of your Twitter account and branded hashtags, then benchmark against the competition.

]]>https://blog.hootsuite.com/twitter-analytics-guide/feed/011 Winning Twitter Contest Ideas and Exampleshttps://blog.hootsuite.com/twitter-contests/
https://blog.hootsuite.com/twitter-contests/#respondMon, 26 Aug 2019 13:00:09 +0000https://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=115291The best Twitter contests have one thing in common: They’re fun! Running a contest or giveaway doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep it simple. Think about what your... Read More

Running a contest or giveaway doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep it simple. Think about what your brand wants to do on Twitter—whether it’s gaining more followers or increasing awareness—and plan accordingly.

But remember, a successful Twitter contest is only as good as the social media strategy that underpins it. New followers may come for the contest, but make sure to give them something worth staying for, too.

We’ve rounded up the top 11 Twitter contest ideas and included examples to get your creative juices flowing.

Bonus: Download the free strategy guide that reveals how Hootsuite grew our Twitter following to over 8 million users and learn how you can put the tactics to work for your business.

11 Twitter contest ideas

From the simplest to most complex, these Twitter contest ideas are tried and true. Use these pointers and examples as inspiration for your next promotion.

Retweet to enter

Retweet to enter is one of the most simple Twitter giveaway examples. It’s easy to explain, easy for your audience to take part, and easy to adjudicate and draw a winner. If one of your primary Twitter goals is to increase brand exposure, this is option is a no-brainer.

Due to a store glitch yesterday, we've extended the #TShirtTuesday sale through today.

Take 20% off all T-shirts in Andrew's party store when you use code: TSHIRTTUESDAY at checkout: https://t.co/LtpPZqeH8x

Don’t let this kind of Twitter contest to get too spammy, though. For instance, don’t encourage to retweet your post more than once. As Twitter warns, “Your contest or sweepstakes could cause people to be automatically filtered out of Twitter search.”

Retweet, like, and follow to enter

Up the ante by adding a like and follow requirement to the retweet-to-enter formula. Besides exposure, this type of Twitter contest will increase your follower count and engagement figures. The added interaction could also curry favour with Twitter’s algorithm (so long as not too much duplicate content is being created or reposted).

Keep in mind that the more requirements you have, the more important it is for you to clearly state them. And remember: If you plan to increase your follower count and engagement rate with a contest, make sure you follow through with a Twitter strategy that will help you keep them.

Reply to win

A reply-to-win Twitter contest asks followers to engage with your content. You can be specific, and ask followers to reply with a specific emoji, hashtag, or phrase. Or you can ask followers to respond to a prompt or question. This may help improve algorithm ranking, in turn helping you reach a wider audience. Adding a RT requirement can help with that, too.

Know someone who needs a boost in DBN, CPT or JHB? ???????? For a chance to surprise a friend or colleague in one of these cities, drop a “????????” in the comments. Spots are limited! #GivesYouWingspic.twitter.com/IpeRa4oV6T

Tag a friend

A variation of the reply-to-enter format is asking your followers to tag a friend (or more) to enter. As with any other contest, you can add criteria such as like, retweet, or follow requirements.

This can be an effective way to reach a new audience and gain meaningful followers, since followers will typically tag a friend with similar interests. And done well, your Twitter contest has the potential to spread exponentially as each tagged person tags another.

SUPPLY DROP GIVEAWAY.

Enter to win a $2,000 NZXT and a $100 gift card to the Ghost Gaming shop. How to enter: 1. Follow @GhostGaming2. Retweet this tweet 3. Tag 3 friends in the comments

Partner with a brand or influencer

There are many benefits from partnering with a brand or influencer. By joining forces, brands are able to reach two Twitter audiences without spending much more.

Depending on your mutual goals, these Twitter contests can work a variety of different ways. Maybe participants are required to follow one of both accounts to enter, for instance. Or maybe you’ve teamed up for a product launch and want to promote a hashtag campaign.

Regardless, be sure not to overcomplicate things. If participation seems to challenging, the extra brand power will be all for naught. These Twitter giveaway examples keep things short and sweet:

Use a hashtag to enter

If you’re running a Twitter hashtag campaign (or a cross-platform one), what better way to encourage followers to use it than with a Twitter contest?

This approach lets tweeters put their own spin on participation if they like. But keep in mind that most often, if all you’ve asked participants to do is use a hashtag, that may be all they do. So make sure your hashtag can stand on its own. If more context is important, consider a different Twitter contest idea.

Send in pictures to enter

Get more personal with your followers by asking them to send in pictures to enter. You could also ask participants to send in poems, feedback, or whatever applies to your brand campaign. Just be clear about where and how participants should share.

This type of Twitter contest could be centered around a theme like a throwback or the holidays—or even something more closely related to you brand. Check out the Twitter marketing calendar for holiday ideas and stats. You could even ask followers to send in pictures featuring your product or service.

You could run this contest based on merit (e.g. best photo wins), or as a sweepstakes. If you have a large enough platform, sometimes the chance to have a photo featured is prize enough.

Tell us why/Show us how to enter

Looking for engagement or feedback? Or maybe you’d like to illustrate brand proof points. All you have to do is ask.

For example, @ALTReign’s Twitter contest asks participants to comment their favourite ALT Reign skin to enter. This not only requires Twitter members to engage with ALT Reign’s brand, it also provides the company with potentially valuable feedback,

Time for our first GIVEAWAY of the month! We'll keep this first one simple:

Meanwhile, this Twitter contest example asks participants to visit a partner’s website to take part, putting passengers in wish-list shopping mode. This will score you website visits, but more importantly, if they don’t win the sneakers, maybe you’ll have convinced them their worth buying anyway.

Competition time! Win a fresh pair of shoes for you & a friend from @ProD_Running ????

✅ Tag a friend???? RT the post✅ Tell us what pair you'd choose from their website

Another example from @EntEarth asks participants to showcase their collection to enter. This shows their products (and potentially others) in relatable, real-life situations. This is a great example because the request appeals to participants’ desire to show-off their collections, and allows them to be brand ambassadors in an authentic way.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!

You've seen Danny's Marvel collection, now we want to see yours! Follow and share your collection using #ToyTuesday here for a chance to win this awesome Marvel prize pack! pic.twitter.com/rgqsoh8x61

Engage elsewhere to enter

This Twitter contest example may seem counterintuitive at first. A cross-platform contest can be a good way to promote a new or less successful channel with your most engaged audience. For instance, if Twitter is your strongest platform, but you’d like to grow your Instagram audience, contests like @itsdougthepug’s could be a good idea.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Look at all these doggos enjoying my brand new dog toy line!!! U can get them on Amazon RIGHT NOW – post a photo of ur pet with the toys on IG for a chance to be reposted on my account ????

Here’s another off-platform Twitter contest idea. If you’ve launched a new product, podcast, or something that would benefit from reviews, ask Twitter followers to leave reviews to enter. Internet users are pretty good at sniffing out fake reviews though, so put measures in place or try to encourage only genuine reviews.

]]>https://blog.hootsuite.com/twitter-contests/feed/0How to Use LinkedIn Live: The Complete Guide for Marketershttps://blog.hootsuite.com/linkedin-live/
https://blog.hootsuite.com/linkedin-live/#respondWed, 21 Aug 2019 14:00:30 +0000https://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=208145Curious about LinkedIn Live? You’re not alone. Since launching native video in 2017, LinkedIn video has taken off. According to insights from LinkedIn, video is the fastest-growing content-type... Read More

Since launching native video in 2017, LinkedIn video has taken off. According to insights from LinkedIn, video is the fastest-growing content-type on the platform, and is 5x more likely to generate conversations with members and 20x more likely to be re-shared.

LinkedIn Live is the latest and most anticipated of these video features. Through live streaming, it lets marketers connect with their communities in real-time. Think of it like Facebook Live, with a more professional twist.

Hootsuite participated in the LinkedIn Live pilot and was an early adopter of LinkedIn Live. In this post, we’ll share everything we’ve learned about mastering the tool, including:

How to use LinkedIn Live in 8 basic steps

Best practices for making the most of LinkedIn Live

Content ideas for creating engaging LinkedIn Live videos

Bonus: Download a free guide to discover four time-saving tools to help you grow your LinkedIn network faster. Includes one tool that lets you schedule a week’s worth of LinkedIn updates in just three minutes.

How to use LinkedIn Live

Note: To get started with LinkedIn Live, please submit an application.

To create your first LinkedIn Live video, follow these simple steps:

Step 1. Make sure you have at least two devices available before you stream.

You’ll need one for streaming the video, and one for monitoring live comments.

Step 2. Sign up for a third-party broadcasting tool to create your video.

Use a tool like speedtest.net to check. Plug in an ethernet cable if your signal is too weak.

Step 5. Get support.

It can be hard to keep up with live comments while you’re talking. Ask a colleague to log onto LinkedIn and monitor your stream for you.

Your partner should receive a notification as soon as you start streaming. They can also find your video on the “recent activity” tab of your page. (Get them to refresh their browser if they’re having trouble.)

Engage viewers by liking and replying to comments as you stream.

Have your colleague reply to user comments for you if possible. Otherwise, ask them to write down the best questions on a piece of paper. That way, you can reply once you have time to catch your breath.

Step 6. Optimize your set up.

We already mentioned how important a strong internet connection is. But there are a few other technical details to consider:

Lighting: Bright, natural light is best.

Camera position: Get close, but not too close. Use a tripod to keep things stable.

Camera quality: The higher the quality, the better! (The rear camera of your phone usually beats the “selfie” cam.)

Audio: Always do a sound check before going live.

Body language: Face the camera, smile, and relax.

Background: Make sure your surroundings look clean and professional. Include some subtle branding in the background, like a mug with a logo.

Review your Page analytics. See your audience demographics and what type of content resonates most with them.

Use the Content Suggestions tool. Filter for your target audience by industry, function, location and level of seniority and see which topics are trending in real-time. Then use these ideas to brainstorm for your next live stream.

Try the Communities Hashtags feed. The Communities panel is on the right-hand side of your Page admin view. Here, you can associate your Page with up to three hashtags (try a mix of niche and broad ones). Click on any of the hashtags and you’ll see a feed of content that uses the same hashtag, which is useful for understanding trending content in your industry.

Choose a unique topic

Sure, you can post live video on Instagram and Facebook. But that doesn’t mean the same video will work on all three platforms.

Make sure you create original content for LinkedIn—topics you wouldn’t cover elsewhere. For example, Hootsuite uses LinkedIn Live to share partner announcements, Q&As with different teams within the company, HR hiring initiatives, and insight reports.

Other ideas include bringing audiences behind the scenes to events, and hosting live Q&As with leadership.

Set a schedule

Consistency is key when it comes to effective marketing. Plan to stream at a set time each day, week, or month. That way, your followers will know when to expect your next (awesome) video.

You can even create a recurring show, like Andre Iguodala’s #LinkedInSpeakerSeries.

Cross-promote

Leave yourself plenty of time for promotion before going live.

Reach out to your community across multiple platforms. This includes any social channels, as well as your website and newsletter. Tailor your tone and voice to each platform for best results.

Mobilize your LinkedIn community

Make sure you get the word out on LinkedIn, too.

Invite employees, followers, and other connections to follow your profile or page. That way, they’ll get a notification as soon as you go live.

Rhett Power’s promotional post is short and sweet. Plus, it includes some great hashtags.

Practice, practice, practice!

Slip ups happen—especially in live video. Avoid the worst mistakes by rehearsing lots before the show.
If you’re going solo, create a list of key points you plan to cover during the video. If you’re interviewing a guest speaker, send them your questions well in advance.

Organize a practice run-through to help everyone feel more comfortable.

…but keep things fresh

That said, don’t rehearse too much.

Authenticity is key when it comes to social video. Avoid memorizing your video word-for-word. Your video will be more natural (and more engaging) that way.

Go long

With live video, it can take a bit of time for viewers to join in and start interacting. Aim to stream for at least 10 to 15 minutes, so folks have time to settle in.

Repeat the discussion topic

Because your video is live, chances are, not everyone will have caught the beginning. Reintroduce your discussion topic a few times during your stream.

That way, you can be sure everyone is up-to-speed.

Write a great description

Create a brief description to accompany your video while you stream.

LinkedIn hides most of your description in search. Front-load your write-up to take advantage of this prime real estate.

Include the key information in the first 1-2 sentences. Start with a brief overview of what the video’s about. Add keywords and speaker names “above the fold”, like Rob Balasa does here.

Use the rest of your description to add a couple of hashtags (again, include #LinkedinLive). You can also outline key points, helpful links, or video highlights.

Include a stellar CTA

Add a strong call-to-action (CTA) to your description. (You can also include one in the video itself). Use clear, compelling language that urges viewers to do something specific.

For example, you could encourage people to subscribe or tag a friend, like Rob Balasabas (above). Promoting a new product, event, whitepaper, or blog post also works well.

Optimize your LinkedIn presence

A great video can generate lots of traffic. Make sure your LinkedIn presence is ready for it:

If you’re an individual, go through your LinkedIn profile carefully. Use a professional headshot and update your work experience. Write a brief, informative headline that catches people’s attention.

Winnie Sun’s profile is polished and punchy. Her headline even includes a plug for her LinkedIn Live show!

If you’re an organization, make sure you’ve filled out your entire Page. According to insights from LinkedIn, complete Pages receive 30% more views as incomplete ones.

To craft a perfect Page, start with compelling profile and banner images. Add an engaging “About us” section, including relevant keywords where possible.

LinkedIn Live video ideas

According to LinkedIn, the best live videos are timely or interactive. Here are just a few examples of content ideas that work well on the platform:

Host a “fireside chat”

Fireside chats are informal conversations or presentations. Done well, they can be an effective strategy for generating leads.

If you’re an individual, hosting a chat can be a great way to showcase your expertise. Chat about a topic you know well that’s relevant to your industry. Repurpose content from past conferences or presentations to save time and energy.

If you’re an organization, invite staff members or guest speakers to lead the chat.

For example, Hootsuite recently created this LinkedIn Live video about Google My Business. We spoke with Meagan Tanner, head of Google My Business Strategic Partnerships, Americas at Google, for some special insights.

Live-stream an event

Are you hosting a conference? Presenting a talk? Attending a special workshop?

Events are an easy way to engage audiences on LinkedIn Live. You can stream the presentation, relaying audience questions to the speaker in real-time. Summarizing key takeaways and conducting on-site speaker interviews can also work well.

Launch or demo a new product

For organizations, LinkedIn Live can be a great way to launch products or services. Live lets you walk potential customers through your latest offering, step-by-step. You can also answer questions as they come up using Linkedin’s live comment feature.

For example, TAP Innovations recently streamed a live demo of its “Admin tool.” The demo helped customers, by teaching them how to make the most of the tool. But it also helped TAP get the word out about their latest product. A win-win for everyone.

For individuals, live-review a new product to show your thought leadership. Walk viewers through what works well and what doesn’t. Comment on any challenges you experience along the way. You can also offer insider tips on how to make the most of the product.

Share a big update

Got big news? LinkedIn Live can be an ideal way to share it:

For organizations: Welcome members to the team, promote job postings, highlight new partnerships, and more.

For individuals: Let connections know about awards, promotions, job changes, or new ventures.

Interview an expert

Expert Q&As make up some of the top-performing LinkedIn Live videos. Done well, they can help you demonstrate authority in your field. Q&As are also a great way to promote your professional services to the interviewee’s client base.

Example interview ideas include:

Chat with an industry celebrity whose client base is relevant to yours.

Interview someone inside your company to showcase your own expertise.

Highlight positive client experiences. Ask customers to weigh in on your services—almost like a live video testimonial.

Go behind-the-scenes

Personal and raw, behind-the-scenes videos help humanize your organization. They also help viewers feel like they’re getting something “exclusive.”

Brian Schulman did this really well in this recent LinkedIn Live video. The video offers viewers an insider look at MusicFest 2019. It also lets fans from out of town experience the festival remotely.

Holidays and seasonal trends

Finally, try going seasonal. Holiday videos can reach new viewers and humanize your LinkedIn presence. Plus, they can be fun!

But remember: even trending content should be useful and relevant. Your Valentine’s Day-themed AMA idea might be adorable. Just make sure it can offer real value, too.

Easily manage your LinkedIn presence alongside your other social channels using Hootsuite. From a single platform you can schedule and share content—including video—and engage your network. Try it today.